Ian McKendry

OMB Director Mick Mulvaney said he would "fix" the CFPB by ensuring it protected consumers without cutting off access to financial services. His comments came as a federal judge declined to rule yet on the legality of Mulvaney's appointment.

President Trump has tapped Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney as interim head of the CFPB. He has taken tough stances on the CFPB, its payday lending rule, housing finance reform and other issues pending before the agency.

The Trump administration insisted Saturday that OMB Director Mick Mulvaney was the rightful interim leader of the CFPB, but Democrats said that the appointment was illegal. It remains unclear who is legally in charge.

CFPB Director Richard Cordray abruptly announced Friday that he would leave at the end of the day, giving the reins of the agency to a new deputy director.

The agency's Quarterly Banking Profile said banks earned $47.9 billion in the third quarter, helped by a 7.4% increase in net interest income from the previous year.

The White House and congressional GOP leaders are eyeing a tight window between tax reform passage and the 2018 midterms to pass housing finance reform. And with key policymakers readying their exit, the effort could be the most concerted push yet.

The resignation of CFPB Director Richard Cordray gives President Trump the chance to name a director who could roll back agency rules and supervisory policies.

The announcement by the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ends months of speculation about how long he planned to stay at the agency.

The regulatory relief bill would raise the SIFI threshold to $250 billion of assets and allow mortgages held in portfolio to be counted as "qualified," among other items, but it is far less sweeping than institutions had hoped.

The Senate tax proposal released Thursday would cap the mortgage interest deduction for properties worth $1 million, a reversal from the House plan that would have limited the deduction to $500,000.